Japan's dilemma with the definition of death

Japan is unusual among industrialized countries in its reluctance to use brain criteria to determine death and harvest transplant organs. This results from public distrust of the medical profession due to an earlier incident, and from concern that technological interventions will threaten religious and cultural traditions surrounding death and dying. Public acceptance is growing, however, as medical professional groups and universities develop brain criteria, and as pressure from patients who could benefit from a transplant, as well as from foreign countries, increases.     

世界的可知性原理

对一切生物所固有的辨识能力所做的最新研究证明,辨识能力不仅体现生物机体在直接周围环境中量的规定性,而且体现质的规定性。例如,植物借助根系“选择”土壤中含有的其生命活动所必须的物质,吸收数量上刚好是它需要的物质。这种选择借以实现的“指示器”,吸收植物所需营养物的根系感受体,完全不同于动物的感觉。植物的根系起着一个进行生物化学过程的器官的作用。可是认识,特别是人的感官的作用,难道不含有使来自外部世界的信息传到人脑的一定生物化学过程吗?这一例证中最重要的是对被感受的外部作用能够进行辨     

科学革命的几个阶段

过去的10年中,科学史家和科学哲学家掀起了一场对科学革命或科学进步的方式进行各种各样分析的热潮。在此期间出版的大量文献中,很多都对这些分析中的这种或那种分析内在的一致性、广泛的适用性或普遍的应用等问题进行了一系列的论证,争论的主要部分集中在T.S.库恩的思想上。库恩的论述很独特,它们都是以“范式”这个概念为基础的。所谓范式,就是一组共有的方法、标准、解释方式或理论,或者说是一种共有的知识体。在库恩看来,所谓科学中的革命,就是这样的一种范式向另外一种范式的转换,他认为,科学形势     

应激和免疫:脑和免疫系统间关系的综述

在临床和实验研究文献中有大量的关于应激原影响免疫功能的描述性研究。虽然所观察到的改变与感染,新生物和自身免疫疾病的发病、病程和结果有关,但它们间是怎样的关系并不很清楚。尽管并不怀疑应激可能影响不同的免疫反应,但应激是通过什么机制改变淋巴和脊髓细胞的功能的,以及这些细胞为什么对应激的调节物质是敏感的,一直是模糊不清的。现在这些情况迅速改变了,有证据表明免疫系统对应激的敏感性并非偶然。在脑和免疫系统间存在着相互调制的作用。     

解释的冲突——“颂词”,祝贺P.里克尔获黑格尔奖

本文为1985年6月14日在授予P.里克尔黑格尔奖时在斯图加特发表的演讲,论述里克尔的哲学思想在当代哲学思潮中的发展。     

次协调逻辑研究之一:辩证法的对立统一原理

次协调逻辑(para-consistent logic)是那些把有意义的不协调理论形式化的逻辑。另一方面,辩证逻辑是把建立在黑格尔、马克思及其后继者提出的观念、原则之上的理论形式化的逻辑。这样的学科与次协调逻辑是相互交叉的。     

摧毁与解构

当海德格尔把理解这个主题从一种人文科学的方法论学说,提升为此在的本体论的生存论环节和基础时,解释学维度就不再意味着现象学的植根于具体知觉的意向性研究的一个较高层面了,而是以欧洲为基地,把几乎同时在盎格鲁撒克逊逻辑学中实现的“转向语言”在现象学研究思潮中突现出来了。在胡塞尔和舍勒尔对现象学研究的最初展开中,尽管有向生活世界的各种转向,但语言问题依然是完全蔽而不显的。     

Containing violence

The use of behavior modification techniques to control criminal violence has been condemned as a violation of human rights because it destroys the possibility of moral choice, an important component of personality. Beehler examines the conditioning used on Alex in Anthony Burgess's book and film A Clockwork Orange and concludes that Alex was left still capable of moral choice except where acts of violence were involved. He argues that behavior modification to control violence is preferable to imprisonment, psychosurgery, or electronic surveillance, and counters objections that its use destroys autonomy, violates privacy and trust, and depersonalizes offenders.     

Truth telling and terminal illness: A Jewish view

The focus of this paper is a Jewish view of truth telling and the dilemma of revealing to a terminal patient his imminent demise. Directions are given to physicians, medical personnel, and children of the patient on how to deal with truth telling. Attitudes reflected in Jewish thought suggest that the welfare of the patient is primary, and any information that will upset his psychological state is clearly prohibited. Physicians may not reveal to patients their terminal state. Children and family are obligated to withhold information of a patient's terminal state, even if the latter demands to be told. Hope is seen as a central feature of truth telling even during the period of confession. This view contrasts with the liberal attitude of truth telling in some Western countries, where it is the patient's right to know of his imminent demise.